Megaman X: Return Mission
by Time-Traveler-Eon
Summary: Five years after the Giga City incident, X is forced to return to Giga City to deal with a new threat.  A lot has changed in the last five years, and X can only learn to expect the unexpected.
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

_Five years ago, a crisis struck a collection of man-made islands known as Giga City. A group of Reploids, known collectively as the Rebellion Army, exiled humanity from Giga City in an effort to liberate Reploids and affirm their equality and independence. The leeder of the Rebellion Army, Epsilon, was deemed Maverick, and the Resistance was formed to stop them._

_A team of Resistance fighters, led by S-Class Hunter Megaman X, combated the Rebellion and took down the Rebellion Cadres one-by-one, eventually confronting and defeating Epsilon and putting an end to the Rebellion Army._

_However, things quickly took a turn for the worse._

_Colonel Redips, X's commanding officer for the Giga City mission, went Maverick and stole the powerful Supra-Force Metal, a material that greatly augmented a Reploid's strength to near immortality, and labeled X and company as traitors to the Federation. After a long struggle, however, Redips was defeated, and the Supra-Force Metal was destroyed. The Federation, upon learning of Redips' betrayal, removed Epsilon's Maverick status._

_Giga city suffered terrible casualties and required heavy rebuilding. Many lives were lost, and the main civilian area of the city, New Hope, was grievously damaged. However, as its name states, hope would remain for years to come. The Rebellion Army's hold now liberated, humans returned to Giga City, able to coexist peacefully with Reploids._

_However, a new threat will soon rise to shatter this peace._

The alarm blared loudly, snapping X out of a peaceful rest in his quarters at Maverick Hunter HQ. The blue-armored Reploid quickly sprung from his recharge pod and sprinted to the briefing room, where his commanding officer, Commander Signas, waited. X saluted Signas when he arrived.

"Commander, what's happening?" asked X.

"We've received an urgent transmission about a Maverick attack," replied Signas. "It was pre-recorded; Alia, play it back for X."

"Yes, sir." Alia, X's navigator from years passed, started to type. A fluctuating bandwidth appeared on the monitor centered in the room.

_"Please, if you get this message, we need you, X!"_

X jumped slightly. Not only was the message addressed directly to him, but he knew the voice. "That's...!"

_"There are two incredibly powerful Mavericks attacking New Hope! We can't defeat them ourselves! Please, help us!"_

The transmission ended.

"Commander, please, you have to send me to Giga City right away!" stated X. "That voice...that was Nana!"

"Understood. Alia, prepare a transporter."

"Right away." Alia started typing again. "Coordinates set. Destination: New Hope, Central Tower, Giga City."

"Thank you, Commander Signas!" X stepped onto a transport terminal. The terminal activated, and in a matter of seconds, X was en route to Giga City. Signas eyed the terminal, uttering three simple words.

"Good luck, X."


	2. New Enemies

CHAPTER ONE - NEW ENEMIES

The second X touched down within Central Tower, he was greeted with a resounding explosion and a scream. "What the-?" was all he could get out before he had to run; a large section of wall behind him was starting to collapse. He jumped out of the way as the wall collapsed, revealing the midnight sky and jet-black ocean beyond and below. The wind was strong, but not strong enough to knock him down or drag him away.

_"X, come in!"_ came Alia's voice through X's communicator. _"We've just received signal that you made it. How bad is it there?"_

X pressed a button on his right gauntlet, pulling up a small digital screen with Alia's image on it. "I haven't even been here two seconds and it already looks pretty bad. I'll head out to inspect the damage. X out."

X closed the communication channel and took off at a sprint up through the spiraling tower. He remembered the layout of Central Tower-there was an exit to get to the western district of New Hope, and he could explore through there. Before he could even reach the hall where he could exit, however, he felt a sharp pain on his back. He looked over and noticed that there were three enemies behind him-Preons. One had a mini machine gun on its left arm and a stungun on its right, one had a rotating disc on its head, and one had two heavy cannons on its back-a Preon Chaser, Preon Bitmaster, and Preon Pod, respectively.

_Son of a..._ he began to think as his arm morphed into the familiar X Buster. _Time to fight._

X quickly took action. The Preon Pod's cannons began to charge up. X charged a blast and fired it at the Preon Pod, knocking it over to disrupt the charge. It barely scratched it, though, which caught X off-guard. When he fought Preons before, he could easily destroy one with a single hit, but for them to be able to withstand his attack meant something wasn't right.

The Preon Chaser attacked next, charging forward with the stungun at full charge. Before X could react, the Preon Chaser drove the stungun into his midriff, sending a powerful charge through X's body. X let out a yell of pain as he felt his systems seize up, but before the Preon Chaser could pull away, X fired a blast at it at point-blank range, destroying a good chunk of its upper body.

_This isn't good,_ thought X as he tried to get his body to move. _They're stronger than they were before...! What in the world is going on here?_

The Preon Chaser collapsed, but the Preon Bitmaster was running full-steam. The disc on its head rotated faster, calling two Bits to its side. X remembered how to take care of them; he charged a spread shot and fired, taking out both Bits and damaging the Bitmaster.

Now the Preon Pod was acting again. While he was busy fending off the Preon Chaser and Bitmaster, the Preon Pod had charged its cannons and let loose a blast of liquid nitrogen. X leapt backwards to avoid the attack, knowing that it could potentially freeze him were it to connect.

_This is VERY bad,_ thought X. The moment his momentum died down and he was stationary again, his body locked. The Preon Chaser's attack did more than he initially thought. He was having a lot of trouble moving, making his dodging sluggish.

The Preons both stopped moving. The Preon Bitmaster took off and leapt out of the hole in the wall, while the Preon Pod froze itself. X blinked in confusion as his self-repair system unlocked everything and he could keep moving. The moment he got to the door, he heard another scream, followed by a loud crash and explosion. He tried to open the door, but found that it was either locked or jammed. _Oh, for crying out..._ He charged another shot with the Buster, planted the muzzle against the door, and fired, blasting the door clean off. There was a resounding, echoing clank as metal struck metal when the door collided with the floor. The hall was dark; it seemed that the power was out in this particular area. X simply charged through the hall to the next door, which slid open with no need to shoot.

"URAAAAAAAAAH!"

Two seconds after X stepped out of the hall, a Preon Chaser shot past him and smashed into a wall. The Reploid blinked, wide-eyed, then looked over in the direction that the Preon came from. A whole wall of Preons of all types were swarmed around a single target, and were promptly being sent flying by said target.

"STINKIN'-PREONS-GET-_**OFF!"**_ roared a familiar voice as the Preons were flung away in tune with each word. A moment later, a powerful blast of crimson energy plowed through the Preons, obliterating a good deal of them and revealing the one they were trying to attack-the massive Reploid Massimo.

"Hey, X!" Massimo called, noticing the awestruck blue Reploid. "How about givin' me a hand with these guys?"

X snapped out of his stupor and ran to Massimo, shooting at some of the Preons that were in the way. "What's going on here, Massimo?" he asked. "We shut down Duboar, so these things shouldn't even be here!"

"I don't get it either," admitted Massimo, swinging his battle-ax in a wide arc around him. "I was just relaxing and thinking about my life when a pair of Mavericks attacked us! Hey, hop up onto my shoulders!"

"Huh?" X blinked owlishly for a moment, then obliged, hanging onto the spikes protruding from Massimo's shoulder blades.

"How accurate are you while moving?" asked Massimo.

"Fairly accurate, why?"

Not even a second after asking, Massimo took off like a mad bull, plowing headfirst through waves of Preons with X clinging to his back, screaming. A Massimo rodeo was NOT what X had planned.

As Massimo ran, there was a loud beep. _"Massimo, we have a problem!"_ came a familiar voice through Massimo's radio.

"Nana?" exclaimed X, still clinging to Massimo's back.

_"X, is that you? Thank goodness you made it!"_

"What's the problem, Nana?" asked Massimo.

_"The two Mavericks have reached the top of the tower! It seems one of them is trying to disable our satellite! You need to get there quickly and-"_

Her voice was cut off by static. A split-second later, a streak of icy-blue flew past the two Reploids. X shivered as the air grew cold.

"Keep up the attack! Don't stop until that Maverick Hunter is a pile of scrap!"

A new voice, high and shrill, pierced the air. As soon as Massimo emerged at the Northern District, the two were immediately attacked by more Preons. Massimo swatted them away as if they were flies, while X fired from atop his perch on Massimo's shoulders. The Preons quickly started to overwhelm them.

"There's just too many of them!" realized X. "What now?"

"Now you can just roll over and die!"

Massimo looked up as soon as he heard the voice, then promptly grabbed X by his arm and flung him away before a bolt of lightning struck down just behind Massimo at an angle where it would have hit X. X rolled to regain his footing and minimize impact damage from Massimo's throw. He looked around the sky frantically, though he couldn't spot an enemy.

Then he heard a laugh.

Another bolt of lightning struck down right in front of X as a humanoid, winged Reploid with a crow-like head descended near them. He had segmented wings that floated behind him and talon-like feet, and a piercing gaze. He grinned as he eyed X. "Well, looks like I've found my prey," he sneered. "The Maverick Hunter X."

"Who are you?" asked X, readying his Buster.

The Reploid chuckled. "I'm Thunder Crow. Nice to meet ya."

Massimo tried to charge into Thunder Crow with his shoulder, attempting to slam into him and maybe break something. Thunder Crow scoffed and leapt into the air, wings outstretched, as Massimo plowed right past him. "Too slow," he chuckled.

Thunder Crow let loose a sharp, screeching cry. Three missiles, shaped similarly to crows, appeared around him. He fired one toward Massimo, which struck him in the back with no noticeable damage, and another at X, which detonated right in front of him and knocked him back several feet. X pushed himself upright, charging his Buster.

A moment later, the air grew icy.

Thunder Crow looked up to the sky as another winged Reploid, this one female with long hair and wing-like arms, flew down to him.

"It is done," she said in a soft, almost melancholic voice. "Their signals are jammed. Our forces can take New Hope now."

"Nice job, Harpie," said Thunder Crow, visibly pleased. "Those fools will be too busy with the satellite to fight back."

"Don't bet on that!" shouted X, firing the charged blast toward the two Reploids; these were clearly the Mavericks Nana was referring to.

The female Reploid looked to the blast. She held up one talon-like hand and caught the blast, freezing it the instant it touched her hand. The frozen energy dropped to the ground and shattered, releasing the built-up energy as a mini explosion.

"Is this him?" she asked Thunder Crow.

"Yeah, that's him. He ain't all that."

Before X could even blink, the female Reploid was right in front of him, almost nose-to-nose with him. She tilted her head slightly as she examined him.

"You are too weak to be him," she said in a soft tone.

The Reploid's wings began to glow softly, a sign X knew meant she was readying an attack, but before she could launch said attack, Massimo took action, swinging his battle-ax toward her. She dodged backwards, avoiding the attack and returning to her post next to Thunder Crow.

"Blast, I missed," muttered Massimo.

"Just who are YOU supposed to be?" asked X.

"My name is Snow Harpie," said the female Reploid. "You are hardly worth my time."

"It'll be anticlimactic, but want me to take care of him?" Thunder Crow asked casually.

"I'll dispose of the bigger one."

"Sounds fun." Thunder Crow grinned as lightning sparked around his hands.

More Preons surrounded X and Massimo, trapping them like sheep surrounded by wolves. Before anyone could act, however, Snow Harpie let out a shriek and abruptly plummeted to the ground, landing with a heavy thud. X noticed a whip of pure energy around her left ankle. "What the-?" was a collective reaction from her, X, AND Thunder Crow.

Snow Harpie swung one of her wing-arms quickly, launching a few metallic feathers into the darkness where the whip originated. The feathers clanked off of something and fell harmlessly to the ground. The sound of footsteps echoed loudly through the silence as a massive figure stepped out of the shadows.

Even in the darkness, X could make out the silhouette of who attacked Snow Harpie, and he reflexively pointed his Buster at the figure.

Standing before them, towering over Snow Harpie like a goliath, was none other than Epsilon.

Thunder Crow quickly swooped down and slashed the whip with one of his talons, breaking its hold on Snow Harpie and pulling her up to her feet. He glared at Epsilon before teleporting away with Snow Harpie in tow.

"Epsilon!"

The gargantuan Reploid looked over at X, who was aiming his Buster at his head with a fierce glare. Before X could even charge a shot, however, Massimo placed his hand over X's Buster arm. X looked at Massimo in confusion.

"Don't worry," assured Massimo. "He's on our side."

"Wh...wha...?" X blinked. "On our side?"

"A lot has changed since you and the others left, X. This is one of those changes."

Massimo helped X, who had fallen over when Snow Harpie approached him, to his feet. "I'll explain everything at the base," he said. "Follow me."


	3. Familiar Faces

CHAPTER TWO - FAMILIAR FACES

The second X stepped into the control room of Central Tower, he was immediately greeted with a hug and an enthusiastic, "Welcome back, X!" from Nana.

"Hi, Nana," greeted X, a little shocked at the sudden action from the normally reclusive navigator. In all the time he knew Nana, he'd never even seen her smile, let alone show affection.

"We've missed you and the others a lot since you left," commented Nana. "Things weren't the same without you guys around."

Nana stepped back a few steps from X. X immediately noticed that she looked a bit different; her hair was a little longer, more white streaks accented the ends of her hair, and she looked a bit taller. The change in her appearance was just another indicator of time passed.

They had minimal time to chat, though, as Epsilon entered the room. X visibly tensed up at the giant's presence, but Epsilon either didn't notice or paid no mind. Instead, he directed his attention to Nana. "Is it possible to get the satellite up and running again?" he asked.

"I'm not certain," replied Nana, showing no fear toward him. "From what we observed, it seems one of the Mavericks froze the satellite completely, blocking the signals. With the weather getting colder by the day, it's going to take some time to melt the ice."

"Do we still have the Mega Mantor at the Deployment Center?"

"Yes, sir."

"Send it up there with the Degraver and Mettaur to take care of the ice."

"Right away." Nana promptly returned to her usual seat at the computer and got to work. Epsilon stood near her, watching the monitor. X simply watched, utterly confused.

Massimo placed his hand on X's shoulder. "Epsilon is the new head of the Resistance," he explained simply.

"Wh-wha?"

"It's true. Our attacks didn't kill him that day at Grave Ruins Base. They merely knocked him off the tower. When the Federation removed his Maverick status, Nana sent a few of the Mechaniloids you found to the base and found him. Epsilon explained his motives after his system was purged of any Maverick programming; all he wants is independence and equality for all Reploids."

_That sounds like my ideal..._ thought X.

"Anyway, a little while after we found Epsilon, Mavericks started attacking New Hope. Epsilon became the commander of the Resistance, for a simple reason."

"Many of my former comrades were rebuilt and have gone Maverick."

X looked toward Epsilon and visibly jumped when he saw that he was standing directly in front of him. He looked down at X, but his eyes carried no malice or hatred. He held out one hand to X.

"I wish to apologize for my previous acts," he said. "I see now that my actions were reckless and careless, and endangered the lives of the Reploids I fought for. It took your words to remind me of what my goal was, and I wish to repay you. I understand that you have the same dream-of a world where Reploids and humans are equal. I want to help you achieve that dream."

X stared at Epsilon for a moment. He could see that Epsilon was being genuine in his explanation and apology. He could see that Epsilon had a genuinely good heart. After a moment, he shook Epsilon's hand. "I understand. And I want to fight alongside you."

"Thank you," said Epsilon.

The computer let out a loud beep. "Chief Epsilon, we've picked up a Maverick reading!" called Nana. "The satellite is partially defrosted and we're getting a faint signal. It appears to be coming from Gaudile's lab. I can't pick up a clear reading though."

"Understood," said Epsilon. "X, Massimo, I want you both to go to the lab and dispose of the Maverick there."

"Yes, sir," X and Massimo said in unison.

"Wait a moment please!"

The door slid open, and in ran the petite Cinnamon, her wing-like hair bobbing behind her. "I heard X came back and wanted to say hi!" she said breathlessly. "I made a special Force Metal for you. Here!"

Cinnamon held out a small piece of metal with green, circuitry-like lines running from its core to the edges. "I haven't named it yet, but I figured you might be able to make some use of it!" chirped Cinnamon.

"What does it do?"

"You'll see!"

X shrugged. He pressed the metal to his armor; the Force Metal literally melded to his body. He trusted the innocent Cinnamon, the team's Force Metal Generator, and knew she wouldn't make something he wouldn't use.

"Hey, that reminds me, where's Professor Gaudile?" asked X.

"Did someone call for me?"

As if on cue, the platypus-like Gaudile waddled into the room. He lifted his goggles to look at X. "Ah, X! It's good to see you again!" he greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," replied X. "Why are you still here, though? I thought you and Cinnamon returned to your lab after Redips was defeated?"

"Well, we did, but then when the Maverick attacks started, I couldn't just stand by and watch. So, Cinnamon and I came back here to help out."

"Well, we're on our way to your lab to stop a Maverick," Massimo piped up. "Cinnamon, do you want to tag along?"

"Of course!" Cinnamon actually jumped with excitement. "I'm so glad X came back, and I don't want him to get hurt, so I'll help out any way I can!"

"By the way, X," continued Gaudile, "I asked Marino to visit my lab to pick up a few things for me. I heard that Nana requested you to come back, so I thought I'd prepare some upgrades for your Buster."

"Marino?" X was surprised to hear that the ninja thief Marino was actually out doing something like this. He imagined she would be more likely to steal the equipment Gaudile needed, but he figured that her time with them may have made her change her ways.

"Yep, Marino's there, so we might run into her!" said Cinnamon cheerfully.

"That's pretty cool," commented X. "I haven't seen her in a while; in fact, I've been wondering how everyone's been lately."

There was another loud beep. "I've picked up intel on the Maverick!" exclaimed Nana.

"Pull it up on the monitor," stated Epsilon.

Nana did as instructed. An image of a large, tortoise-like Reploid appeared on the screen. "It's huge!" exclaimed Gaudile. "How did THAT thing fit inside my lab?"

"Probably the same way Psyche did," commented X. "Started small and then got huge."

"It doesn't appear to have any special abilities," said Nana. "I'm not sure exactly where it is, though. All I know is that shell looks hard to break through."

"Massimo, it should be no problem for you, right?" asked X.

"Not at all," replied Massimo. "A shell like that? I can crack that in one hit!"

"I'm readying the transporter for Gaudile's lab," said Nana, typing. "Is everyone ready?"

She got a confirmation from X, Massimo, and Cinnamon.

"Okay...coordinates set. Be careful, everyone."

X stepped onto the teleport terminal next to him, followed by Massimo, and finally Cinnamon. The terminal activated, transporting all three of them to Gaudile's lab.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."

The hulking tortoise slowly stomped his way through the lab, searching for something. He paused at every turn and intersection, examining them before choosing a path to walk down.

"Come on out, little girl..." he called, his deep, gravelly voice rumbling from deep in his shelled body. "I know you're in here..."

"Just like I remember," commented X when he and his team arrived in the lab. He gazed around through the Plexiglas tunnels at the artificial forest beyond. Something about it felt slightly different, though, as if the area was now more natural.

"Something on your mind, X?" asked Cinnamon.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just looking at the forest."

"It's so pretty, huh? The Professor has been working really really hard to keep things from getting overgrown, or to keep the plants from dying."

"Wait, I thought these were artificial trees?"

"Not all of them. Some of them are real."

_Wow, a lot sure has changed..._ thought X.

"Cinnamon, would you like me to carry you on my shoulders so you don't get tired?" asked Massimo.

"That's okay," declined Cinnamon politely. "I'd rather walk myself, since I can lead you through here. I think I know where that big turtle went."

"Okay, just be careful," warned X.

"I will, don't worry."

Cinnamon walked ahead of X and Massimo, guiding them through the long hallways. Eventually the team came to the familiar fork in the halls, with one door being locked. "Cinnamon," began Massimo, "I've been meaning to ask, what's behind that door?"

"Huh? What door?"

Massimo pointed down the hall to the right. Cinnamon tilted her head and placed one finger to her chin. "I'm not sure, really," she replied after a moment. "That door was always locked. The Professor never learned the code to get it open."

"Oh, well. Let's keep moving."

The team continued through the path, but were immediately stopped by a few Mechaniloids: two Big Monkeys and a Pararoid. _Uh-oh,_ thought X upon seeing the Pararoid.

The Pararoid wasted no time in taking action and promptly flew over to one of the Big Monkeys. It latched onto the Big Monkey's back and stung it, then self-destructed. The Big Monkey let out a howl and started pounding its chest.

"Cinnamon, stay back!" shouted X as he started charging his Buster. Massimo charged forward and tackled one Big Monkey just as X unloaded a blast to its face. The Big Monkey toppled backwards, giving Massimo the opportunity to cleave it in half with his ax.

The second Big Monkey went on the offensive and charged toward Cinnamon. X immediately intercepted, using his gauntlets to hold back the lumbering Mechaniloid's ax. "Massimo, NOW!" he shouted.

"Right!" Massimo charged and fired a massive blast from between the spikes on his back, striking the Big Monkey dead-on and knocking it into a wall. The ape stood up like nothing had even touched him.

"That's not good..." mumbled Cinnamon.

"Guess I'm gonna have to go to plan B," thought X. "Massimo, hold it off for a moment!"

"You got it!" Ax and ax clashed violently as Massimo pushed the Big Monkey backwards as it tried to go after Cinnamon. While the Mechaniloid had the advantage over size, Massimo clearly had an advantage over it in brute strength, and could push the oversized gorilla back several feet.

X activated a key program in his systems, triggering a bright flash. When it dimmed, he was clad in his black-and-gold X Fire armor. The Shock Claw on his right arm sparked violently as he charged energy into it.

Perfect timing. The Big Monkey started pushing Massimo back toward them. The instant the claw finished charging, X charged forward and jumped onto Massimo's back, then sprung off and jammed the claw right into the Big Monkey's face, sending a powerful discharge into it. The Big Monkey toppled backwards before self-destructing.

X deactivated his armor. "Whew...everyone okay?" he asked with a small sigh.

"I'm fine," replied Massimo.

"I'm okay too," replied Cinnamon.

Just then, X let out a small yell of pain. He looked down at his arms; the ax he blocked had managed to cut through his gauntlets, exposing the circuitry and mechanics beneath. Artificial blood trickled out of the gashes.

"Oh my gosh!" Cinnamon rushed to X and examined the wounds. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll live," replied X, though he was clearly feeling pain.

"Hang on, I'll see if I can fix this..."

Cinnamon gently held X's arms as a faint glow enveloped both of them. The gashes began to close slowly, and after a moment, healed. Cinnamon released X and looked up at him. "Better?"

"Yeah, a lot better." X clenched his fists a few times. There was no pain at all from the movement.

"Let's keep going," said Massimo. "The sooner we terminate the Maverick, the better."

"Okay! Follow me!" Cinnamon skipped ahead of her friends and continued through the lab, with X and Massimo close behind.

"Not here..."

The tortoise rumbled with disappointment as he checked another room, noting that his target wasn't there. He continued his slow trek through the lab.

"Where are you, little girl? Come out, come out, wherever you aaaare..."

"Oh, brother..."

X's eye twitched slightly when he realized where Cinnamon was heading: the Eternal Forest.

"I take it you aren't looking forward to this either, X?" asked Massimo.

"Not exactly..."

"Uh, I forgot to mention," began Cinnamon in a meek voice, "the Professor placed stronger trials up to keep intruders out of the lab. Sorry."

X hung his head as Massimo patted him on the back. All the while, the blue Reploid wondered what Nana and Epsilon were doing at the base.

"Got any threes?"

"Um...go fish."

"Blast."

Epsilon picked up one of the tiny cards and added it to his hand, which he was unfortunate enough to have only five different cards and absolutely NO matches.

"Do you have any sixes?"

_Oh for the love of-!_ Make that four different cards.

"Heehee! Four of a kind! Okay, any sevens?"

Three different cards.

"Another match! Okay...any aces?"

"Go fish."

"Man!"

_Got her._

"I'M NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN!" shouted X as he slammed the last door behind him and leaned against it. Somehow he wound up against a Meltdown and barely had enough time to disable it before it went kaboom. Cinnamon hopped off of her perch on Massimo's back just in time for Massimo to fall on his face.

"Was it really that strong?" asked the naive blonde.

"Let's just say I hope we NEVER have to fight one of those again..." groaned Massimo.

Cinnamon pulled Massimo back to his feet. "I think we're almost there," she said. "It shouldn't be far."

The blonde led her two "bodyguards" down the halls again. Before they could get far, however, they heard a loud crash and a female voice scream. X instinctively morphed his arm into the Buster as Massimo readied his ax and Cinnamon ducked behind them.

Moments after the trio got ready, the nearest door slid open, and a female figure was promptly flung out from the room beyond, crashing into Massimo. Upon recovering from the sudden shock, the trio was shocked to find that the figure was none other than Marino the thief.

Marino looked a bit different. Her outfit was now black and white, with some pink accents here and there. Her hair looked like it was a little shorter, and she had abandoned her helmet in favor of a headband that served the same purpose.

A few seconds after crashing into Massimo, Marino opened her eyes. "Hey, guys..." she greeted groggily. "X, when'd you get here...?"

"Marino, what happened?" asked X. "Did that Maverick attack you?"

"If by Maverick, you mean King Koopa in there, then yeah, he did."

Cinnamon quickly healed Marino's injuries. They looked rather serious; several areas in her armor were dented from some kind of impact. As soon as she finished, the four heard rumbling footsteps, followed by a loud whirring sound. X aimed his Buster at the door in front of them, preparing for the worst.


End file.
